I've tripped over an interesting one in the Calendar State Papers for Ireland in the Reign of Charles I 1625 - 1632. On pages 346 to 349 is the rather snappy set of "Instructions for our officers in Ireland for keeping up our army in Ireland at its full strength."

Article 13 goes (13.) Officers shall see that all companies of 100 shall have besides officers, 30 pikemen armed with cuirasses, a pike of 18 foot long at least with morions and swords, together with 10 muskets, 54 calivers with headpieces and swords ; six targeteers or other sufficient men with other hand weapons furnished with good pistols, targets, morions, and swords.

Article 16 goes(16.) Every horseman to present himself on a good horse or one of his captain's worth 10li., and to carry a good sword, cuirass, or jacket, with a headpiece or morion, a good horseman's staff" with a petronell or pistol, or one of them at least, and for default to be checked two days' pay a month for each.

Clothing wise the English soldiers were dressed in “A cassack well lined with bayes, a good fustion doublet and a pair of cloth hose both well lined two shirts, two pair of stockings, two pair of shoes, two falling bands and a hat.” priced at 48s

There's also an interesting comment on religion in article 22

(22.) Every captain of 50 men shall appoint some person to say the Common Prayers and Litanies in some decent place before the whole band, and every captain to that end shall give charge that all his band do usually attend and be present at the saying of them. Soldiers absent shall lose a day's pay for the first offence and shall be discharged as unmeet to serve if they repeat the offence.

Dathi wrote:(22.) Every captain of 50 men shall appoint some person to say the Common Prayers and Litanies in some decent place before the whole band, and every captain to that end shall give charge that all his band do usually attend and be present at the saying of them. Soldiers absent shall lose a day's pay for the first offence and shall be discharged as unmeet to serve if they repeat the offence.

By the time it got to War, the Army was no longer the sort of thing you could use as Train Bands.Thomas Wentworth was the man who set the Irish Army on an even keel. He determined that all reserves should be drilled and he furnished good, Dutch weapons out of his own Purse.He was a great one for eaxample and so, drilled his men at Dublin Castle in his 'Black' armour. Both he and Fairfax earned the title 'Black Tom, the tyrant'. Neither deserved the name Tyrant. Wentworth took over the Deputyship of Ireland in 1632. Prior to his going to Ireland, the money to keep the army was being used for private purposes, many soldiers were living on free quarter and the majority of the soldiers didn't know basic drill.Wentworth's keyword was 'Thorough'.

Church parade and Prayers on the battlefield continue to today. Many of the men that egged the men onto terrible slaughters were the Chaplains and Priests. It would appear that when you feel close to being impaled or shot, God becomes a very real concept. If you want to be really bizarre, imagine a German Church Parade in Belsen! I bet they did!

God is an awful ally though, he can be on both sides at once. Cromwell's description of the fighting at Drogheda cites God as giving Him the advantage and then God gave the enemy the courage to repel His men and God gave his men the courage to give his men the final push. Little is said about the fact that Cromwell words to the effect of "Get out of the bloody way! O.K. you guys, follow me!". Later, in prayer, he would have said "For heaven sake God, will you make up your bloody mind!".

Perhaps the reason that so many people fight for God and country is that God has a Multiple Personality. Nah!